[Adopted 6-3-1991; amended in its entirety 11-1-2021]
The purpose of this article is to:
A. 
Prevent contamination of groundwater and to protect public health, safety and welfare by assuring that unused, unsafe or noncomplying wells are properly abandoned.
B. 
Require that existing private wells meet and are able to remain in compliance with all state and local requirements for construction and water quality, if permitted.
C. 
Require the abandonment of all unused, unsafe or noncomplying wells located on the premises served by their system, by local ordinance or water utility rule, to prevent such wells from acting as channels for contamination or vertical movement of water and to eliminate all existing cross-connections and prevent all cross-connections pursuant to § NR 810.06, Wis. Adm. Code.
D. 
Provide existing well permit renewal standards to ensure adherence to state and local well requirements.
E. 
Provide new well permit review standards to ensure that new wells, should they be approved, are in compliance with state and local codes, will not adversely affect the Village's water system and viability, and are found to be justified for use.
This article applies to all wells located on premises served by the Village of Cambria municipal water system.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:
AQUIFER
A geological layer of either unconsolidated material, usually sand or gravel or both, or bedrock lying below the ground surface that is all or partially saturated with water and permeable enough to allow water to be extracted as from a well.
DRAWDOWN
The extent to which the water level or hydraulic head in and near a well is lowered when water is pumped or flows from the well.
MUNICIPAL WATER SYSTEM
A system for the provision to the public of piped water for human consumption when such system has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25 year-round residents and is owned or operated by a city, village, town, town sanitary district, utility district or public institution or privately owned water utility serving any of the above.
NONCOMPLYING
A well or pump installation which does not comply with the provisions of Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code, in effect at the time the well was constructed, a contamination source was installed, the pump was installed, the pump was installed or work was done on either the well or pump installation.
PUMP INSTALLATION
The pump and related equipment used for withdrawing water from a well, including the discharge piping, the underground connections, pitless adapters, pressure tanks, pits, sampling faucets and well seals or caps.
UNSAFE
A well or pump installation which produces water which is bacteriologically contaminated or contaminated with substances in exceedance of the standards of Ch. NR 809 or NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code, or for which a health advisory has been issued by the Department of Natural Resources.
UNUSED
A well or pump installation which is not in use or does not have a functional pumping system.
WELL
An excavation or opening into the ground made by digging, boring, drilling or other methods for the purpose of obtaining groundwater or other use.
WELL, EXISTING
A well that is in existence by permit from the Village and is not changing in its depth, capacity or configuration.
WELL, NEW
A well that is previously not permitted by the Village, including permitted wells that are to be replaced, improved or otherwise changed in configuration.
WELL ABANDONMENT
The filling and sealing of a well according to the provisions of Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code.
All wells located on premises served by the municipal water system shall be abandoned in accordance with the terms of this article and Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code, no later than one year from the date of connection to the municipal water system, unless a well operation permit has been obtained by the well owner from the Village Board.
A. 
The installation of private wells within municipal boundaries to service residential, commercial or industrial customers is prohibited, except by permit issued pursuant to this article. This prohibition does not apply to existing private wells installed prior to November 1, 2021, but such wells are governed per § 440-36B and other applicable provisions of this article.
B. 
New wells. A private well permit, for the period of one year, may be issued by the Village Board, in its full discretion, on demonstration of:
(1) 
The necessity of the proposed new well in addition to the water provided by the Village water system; and
(2) 
A review of all available alternatives to a new well, including but not limited to a review of modified usage and/or modified delivery; and
(3) 
That the proposed new well will not limit the Village's ability to site new municipal water wells in the vicinity of the proposed new well; and
(4) 
That the proposed new well will not provide adverse impacts to existing wells, will not reduce aquifer recovery for existing wells and will not increase aquifer drawdown that would adversely affect existing municipal wells; and
(5) 
The completion of an engineering and financial analysis that shows the proposed new well will not have a negative financial impact to the Village's water utility; and
(6) 
The Village's inability to provide the capacity desired by the installation of the proposed new well within two years upon request; and
(7) 
New well applications may be accompanied by a water usage agreement if, in the discretion of the Village Board, a well has been justified and an amount of water is not able to be provided by the Village water system within two years upon request.
C. 
The applicant shall submit supporting documentation to address Subsection B(1) through (5) at its sole cost and expense as part of the proposed new well permit application. A fee, as set forth in the Village's Fee Schedule as set by the Village Board, shall be remitted to cover the Village's costs in reviewing the application and supporting documentation.
D. 
Existing wells. The Village Board may grant a permit to a private well owner to operate a well for a period of one year, providing that conditions of this subsection are met. An owner may request renewal of a well operation permit by submitting information verifying that the conditions of this section are met. The Village of Cambria may conduct inspections or have water quality tests conducted at the applicant's expense to obtain or verify information necessary for consideration of a permit application or renewal. Permit applications and renewals shall be made on forms provided by the Clerk/Treasurer. The following conditions must be met for the issuance or renewal of a well operation permit.
(1) 
The well and pump installation meet or are upgraded to meet the requirements of Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code; and
(2) 
The well construction and pump installation have a history of producing bacteriologically safe water as evidenced by at least two samplings taken a minimum of two weeks apart. If either of the two samples is positive for bacteria then two more samples must be taken a minimum of two weeks apart; the well owner shall be responsible for the costs of all additional testing. No exception to this condition may be made for unsafe wells unless the Department of Natural Resources approves, in writing, the continued use of the well. The samples will be taken by the Cambria DPW with a private well owner representative present. The Cambria DPW will submit the samples for testing. The cost of up to two bacteriological tests will be paid by the Village and covered by the established well permit fee; and
(3) 
The well and pump system be evaluated by a licensed well driller or pump installer and certified to comply with Ch. NR 812, Subchapter IV, prior to issuing the initial permit and every 10 years afterwards; and
(4) 
Written documentation of the well and pump inspection within 90 days of the date of application indicating compliance with Ch. NR 812 requirements using standardized forms provided by the department; and
(5) 
There are no cross-connections between the well and pump installation and the municipal water system as evidenced by a report from a certified cross-connection control inspector; and
(6) 
The proposed use of the well and pump installation can be justified as being necessary in addition to water provided by the municipal water system, in the opinion of the Village Board, based on criteria as follows:
(a) 
An evaluation of existing and proposed water usage shall be completed by the Village in review of existing well permit renewals; and
(b) 
An evaluation of capability of the Village's water system to accommodate additional water demand to the applicant; and
(c) 
That the proposed well renewal will not provide adverse impacts to existing municipal wells, to not reduce aquifer capacity (flow and volume) for existing wells, to not reduce aquifer recovery for existing wells, to not increase aquifer drawdown that would adversely affect existing municipal wells.
(7) 
Payment of applicable fee per fee schedule as set by the Village Board.
E. 
Existing well renewals may be accompanied by a water usage agreement if, in the discretion of the Village Board, a well renewal has been justified and an amount of water is not able to be provided by the Village water system within two years upon request.
A. 
All wells abandoned under the jurisdiction of this article shall be abandoned according to the procedures and methods of Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code. All debris, pump, piping, unsealed liners and any other obstructions which may interfere with sealing operations shall be removed prior to abandonment.
B. 
The owner of the well or the owner's agent shall notify the Clerk/Treasurer at least 48 hours prior to commencement of any well abandonment activities. The abandonment of the well shall be observed by a registered well driller or pump installer.
C. 
An abandonment report form, supplied by the Department of Natural Resources, shall be submitted by the well owner to the Clerk/Treasurer and the Department of Natural Resources within 10 days of the completion of the well abandonment.
Any well owner violating any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be subject to a penalty as provided in § 1-5 of this Code. Each day of violation is a separate offense. If any person fails to comply with this article for more than 10 days after receiving written notice of the violation, the municipality may impose a penalty and cause the well abandonment to be performed and the expense to be assessed as a special tax against the property.